Consistency

[eukatheude]

I've been playing for 15 years or so. Technically speaking I can play almost anything you throw at me quite cleanly, I can slap and tap and double thumb and play legatos and so on, and I've been focusing my latest efforts on having better tone & articulation which I think is going to pay off.
However I still struggle with consistency - I still too easily miss notes, get distracted in easily 2 chord songs, start fills which sound good but then fail to get back to the root of the next chord, get uneven volume unless I really really focus on playing dead simple lines and pay attention to each note, which somewhat takes its toll and prevents me from playing in a relaxed way. And still my focus is unstable, it could be a glance from someone in the audience or a random thought and I will miss the next note, or play it not-quite-how-I-intended it to sound.
Has anyone gone through a similar problem with their playing? How did you solve it?

 

[BrotherMister]

Evidently you can't play anything quite cleanly, and that's okay! It's normal. If anyone could they would stop practising and find any serious player that doesn't continue to practise. It's a life long struggle that we only ever get a little bit better at realising we still more work to do.

Anyway. First thing is first. Slow everything right down. Super super slow. Why slow? Practising slow allows you to put absolutely every aspect of your playing under the microscope from the micro movements in the muscles to the sound of each note. Always aim for clarity and consistency and speed will take care of itself. Just keep repeating what you are doing as well, consistency comes from repetition. There is no other way to be consistent at something without repeating it.

Break everything down to a single idea at a time as well. If you work on one thing you'll get better at one thing but when you work on two or three things at once nothing really gets better evenly.
For the fills thing, record yourself first and preferably in context. Listen to it seriously and be honest with yourself, do the fills actually add anything musically or is it just a way to indulge yourself? That alone should simplify what you are aiming for. Again, a simple idea that is clearly stated is going to be more powerful than a great idea that is all of the place. Then start simple, start the fill on the and of beat 4 going to the root on beat 1. Then start on beat 4. Then the and of beat 3. Then beat 3 etc etc. The problem here is rhythmic awareness where it seems like you aren't fully in control of the time which is why you aren't making the changes either.

 

[Groove Doctor]

Record yourself.... daily. Simple.

 

[J_Bass]

Record yourself.... daily. Simple.

That's a great advice. I started doing this a year ago, and it's a great way to perfect you playing.

 

[BassChuck]

Lot's of meditation.... or less coffee.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

Consistency is doing the same thing at the same level regardless of situation.

it goes with the territory, the more you have to think/draw/remember then the more you will not be constant.

Consistency is doing the same thing to the same level every time.

Now i am a pro player and i get this comment all the time after shows, in effect it boils down to, " i can d what you do".

Now i am sure you can, but i have to do it, night after night, day after day, week after week and month after month....regardless of situation.

Now let me put that in perspective..
In January of this year i picked up a virus, and it knocked me out.
But i had a UK Blues Festival in January, where i was working for three different bands, that weekend, then a tour of Spain to follow the next week.

I lost over a stone in weight in the week before the three date UK festival, i had the shakes, extreme shivers, could not keep food down, as well as a chest infection and cough spasms.

I then after that weekend had a 22 hour drive from the UK to Spain, where i the hotel on the first night i curled up in bed and was happy do die...and i mean happy to die where i lay.

But....at no point did it affect my performance....that anyone watching would notice...and that is the point with constancy.


The shows i played were Blues shows, i know my blues inside out, and as such they only required about 10% of my ability, but 100% of my experience.
But because i have so much "headroom" i can be off my best, but still be consistent.

Headroom, is what every top/pro player talks about.

So here i is in "Layman's" terms, if you use 10% of your ability to play perfect, or 100% of your ability. then the end result is you play perfect, and your audience hears perfect.

Now lets say you under perform 10%, then a player using 10% to play perfect is using 20%, but the player using 100% is now making mistakes because they are 10% short in their abilities
Even a player using 80% can have a 10% drop and still play perfect because they are now using 90% f their abilites.

So getting better as a player is not always about being better, but being consistent....and that in certain situations is what being better means.

So Eric Clapton plays Blues...so why is Nathan East his first choice of bassist?

 

[Badwater]

For me to play well without missed notes, I need to really really like the music I'm playing. I have to feel some kind of emotional connection with the song once I learn it. And from there it's just a matter of practice and muscle memory.